Job, Vocation, or Passion?
The Hidden Cost of Not Knowing the Difference

I was sitting in a Starbucks in Marina del Rey the other day.

Chatting with a couple about my early retirement, travel, and BJJ.

They were in their early 60s, still working, asking curious questions about how I managed to retire at 56 after 35 years in construction.

I shared how I worked as a union electrician. I wasn’t flashy. I didn’t chase titles. I didn’t climb the corporate ladder. But I made good money, lived below my means, and learned financial intelligence.

That gave me the freedom to set a hard boundary: I would not work more than 40 hours a week.

Why?

Because I wanted to train in martial arts. Read books. Take classes. Travel with my wife. Write. Think. Reflect. LIVE.

The wife smiled and said, "Wow, you’re really well-read and thoughtful… for an electrician."

She didn’t mean it as an insult. And 35-year-old me might have taken it that way. But older me just chuckled.

That kind of comment reveals the assumptions people make about work, class, and identity.

Too many people think a job defines them.

Too many people tiptoe through life, trying not to wake the dream they gave up on.

Too many people are afraid to fully express who they are.

But here's the truth most never realize:

When you work just for validation, approval, or survival—you’re living a half-life.

When you use work as a mirror to express your values, sharpen your character, and design the life you want?

You become dangerous.

You become free.

The 3 Levels of Work: Job, Vocation, Passion

1. A Job

This is where most people start.

A job is something you do for money. Period. You trade your time, energy, and attention for a paycheck.

There is no deeper purpose here. No higher aspiration. You show up, do the work, go home. You tolerate it.

Some jobs suck the soul out of you. Others are tolerable, even decent. But the key here is that the job does not shape you in any meaningful way. It pays your bills.

And if you let it, it cages your dreams.

Too many people stay here too long. They get used to the money. Used to the routine. They get tired. They convince themselves that chasing anything more is foolish, selfish, or unrealistic.

They confuse stability with security. And slowly, their life becomes smaller, duller, safer—but emptier.

2. A Vocation

A vocation is a step up.

It’s work that you actually care about.

There’s pride in it. You want to do it well. You want to get better.

A vocation usually brings meaning. You begin to tie your identity to what you do. You don’t just show up to get paid—you show up to grow.

And that growth spills over into how you treat people, how you show up in the world, and what you expect of yourself.

You read books on your craft. You talk shop with others. You have standards.

But there’s still a boundary.

You clock out. You take weekends. You have hobbies outside of your work.

This is where most good-hearted, hard-working people land. And it’s a great place to be.

But there’s one more level.

3. A Passion

When work is your passion, it becomes your life. Not in a workaholic, hustle-grind way. But in a deep, soul-aligned way.

You can’t not do it.

You think about it in the shower. You dream about it. You want to learn more, do more, connect more, give more.

This is where your work is your expression. It’s where the lines between "work" and "life" blur because you love the experience so deeply that it energizes you.

You want to get so good you can serve at the highest level. You don’t need motivation. You are the motivation.

For my wife, this is her work as a somatic healer. She serves 20-30 clients a week. But she also assists her mentors. She takes new classes constantly. She reads case studies. She shares ideas with peers.

She’s not clocking in or out.

She’s living it.

And she’s really thriving.

Why Knowing the Difference Matters

If you don’t know whether you’re in a job, vocation, or passion, life gets confusing. You start comparing apples to oranges.

You wonder why your friend LOVES what he does while you can barely drag yourself to your desk.

You beat yourself up for not being motivated. Or worse, you assume something is wrong with you.

But there’s nothing wrong with you.

You’re just misaligned.

You may be stuck in a job but desire a vocation. Or you’re trying to force a vocation when you secretly want to go all-in on a passion.

When you clarify which one you’re in—and which one you want to be in—you can make real moves.

You can start designing your life from the inside-out.

How to Move Up the Ladder

From Job to Vocation:

• Learn basic financial skills so you're not a slave to your paycheck.
• Set boundaries around your time and energy.
• Find something about the job to take pride in: process, outcome, or skill.
• Begin exploring areas of curiosity or talent outside of work.

From Vocation to Passion:

• Ask yourself: If I could do this even if I didn’t get paid, would I?
• Immerse yourself: books, peers, teachers, mentors.
• Look for ways to serve at a higher level, not just perform.
• Let your work be your practice not just your performance.

Most importantly, stop asking, "What do I do?"

Start asking, "Who am I becoming through this work?"

The quality of your life isn’t measured by your title, salary, or job description.

It’s measured by the depth of your expression and experience.

If your work isn’t doing that for you—you have some changes to make.

Putting It On the Mat

When I was younger, I thought life was about proving myself.

Get a good job. Make good money. Show the world I wasn’t a failure.

But once I got those things… I realized I still felt empty.

Not because the job was bad. Not because the money wasn’t enough.

But because I was still doing it for them. For the image. For the respect. For the security.

It wasn’t until I started treating everything I did—even pulling wire through conduit on a job site—as a chance to express who I really was, that life got good.

When I chose to work clean, precise, and fast—not for praise, but because that’s who I am. When I trained in martial arts after hours—not to fight, but to practice being disciplined, calm, and focused. When I journaled every Sunday morning—not for productivity, but to reflect on what kind of man I wanted to become.

That’s when I started to feel free.

Because I realized that freedom isn’t about quitting your job or escaping the grind.

Freedom is about living on purpose.

And here’s the punchline most people never hear:

But if you don’t know which one you’re in, and why, you’ll keep drifting.

So here’s what I challenge you to do:

This week, take 30 minutes. No phone. No noise.

Just a notebook and your honesty.

Answer these questions:

1. Is my current work a job, a vocation, or a passion?
2. Am I doing it for survival, significance, or self-expression?
3. What would I do differently if I chose to show up fully?
4. What boundary can I set this week to protect my energy?
5. What skill or practice could I begin learning that excites me?

Don’t half-ass this.

Because the biggest lie you’ll ever believe is that your environment shapes your life.

It doesn’t.

You shape your environment.

And it starts by showing up to your life—on purpose.

That’s the Way of the Warrior.

That’s how you become a Leader.

That’s how you live like a Badass.

One move at a time. One rep at a time.

I’ll see you on the mat.

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